diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index a590c3e..d439492 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
     developmentOnly 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools'
     providedRuntime 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-tomcat'
     testImplementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-test'
+    // a dependency on Jackson Databind
+    implementation 'com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind:2.11.4'
 
 }